Yep it's a stress bar. Don't worry about it though, although they can indicate illness and obviously stress, they do have different causes. Moulting, hormones etc. You name it. I had a green cheek covered in them and he had a clean bill of health, an awesome diet and a plenty of out of cage and play time with me. As soon as he hit 2 years it was like boom! Stress bars also only come out while a feather is developing, so it could be anything during that period of time. She's very hormonal at the moment right? And if she is moulting, that will give you an idea

Yep it's a stress bar. Don't worry about it though, although they can indicate illness and obviously stress, they do have different causes. Moulting, hormones etc. You name it. I had a green cheek covered in them and he had a clean bill of health, an awesome diet and a plenty of out of cage and play time with me. As soon as he hit 2 years it was like boom! Stress bars also only come out while a feather is developing, so it could be anything during that period of time. She's very hormonal at the moment right? And if she is moulting, that will give you an idea

Yeah...I guess you're right but I feel so bad. I know it is silly but I want her to be happy. The thing is I don't know how long ago that feather was forming. So of course, I don't know what caused it. Those were growing from when the breeder pulled them for dna. She is molting now, but again not sure when that feather came in or if it was when she was acting more hormonal. I can't see any other ones that have a stress bar other than those two tail feathers next to each other.

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~Anatole France
Owned by & slave to: Oliver, Gemma, Cozette, & the English Budgie Crew

I have been talking about Dexters feather issues that I have seen over the last 16mths.

From what I can see in your picture it does look like a stress bar and only the one.
That could indicate that only that one feather was being replaced at the time of what ever caused this bar.
And not a full on molt with more than one feather growing in.

Here is Dexter at his worst. We do have a very good idea what went on to cause this and it was stress due to things happening with his Parront.
A drop in blood pressure is what can cause the weak spot in the growing feather.

Dexter has just had another problem with an in growing feather. And someone has said it does not look like stress bars but more like maybe damage from preening while that feather was growing in.

I think Mina looks beautiful. I've got one linnie who always messes up her tail feathers and I don't know why. I wouldn't worry about one stress bar in an otherwise healthy bird. Poof! Stress bar be gone!

M-Nature and her feathered flock: Lucy Linnie from Tribe of the Lineola Vivian Linnie from Birds4Alice
JJ the Australian Red Rump (adopted)
Goldie the Australian Red Rump (adopted)
RIP Lilly Peepers

No, that's not damage from trauma, it's a stress bar and they get damaged as they are growing so it was something that happened back then but she doesn't look to have any other so I really would not worry about it at all. She looks clipped in her picture and, if that is the case, that might be the reason why she is always falling...

No, that's not damage from trauma, it's a stress bar and they get damaged as they are growing so it was something that happened back then but she doesn't look to have any other so I really would not worry about it at all. She looks clipped in her picture and, if that is the case, that might be the reason why she is always falling...

Thank you. She always falls because she runs and jumps and then looses her footing if the surface is slippery. My husband and I get a kick out of how she is always running everywhere, lol. Anyway, she was clipped when I got her Sept 21st and those feathers have not grown out except for the one you see on the left. I am trying to have a few grow out at least because she is too heavy and sinks to the floor. The reason I asked about damage because I did she her tail looking a little ruffed up a while back. She seems to play hard.

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~Anatole France
Owned by & slave to: Oliver, Gemma, Cozette, & the English Budgie Crew

So I have been thinking about a possible 'stressful' incident. Her life is pretty nice so I couldn't think of anything for a while lol. Nutrition doesn't seem right either. Anyway a few weeks ago, when the two feathers would have been coming out, I had her in the out side cage and I was sitting by her drinking coffee. The sun was out but it was early morning so cool. Two minutes didn't pass before she started panting and standing upright with a tight body. I was sitting right there and so immediately brought her in and she took a bath and was fine. Could that have caused it? (Clawnz mentioned blood pressure, etc.)

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~Anatole France
Owned by & slave to: Oliver, Gemma, Cozette, & the English Budgie Crew

I was at the vet about a month ago for a parrotlet checkup and being that it is a clinic at a teaching hospital, the doc was talking things out for the four or five students with us in the examination room.

At one point she was commenting on how beautiful the bird's feathers are and pulled out her wing to show the students and said: "Look, absolutely no stress bars." I had no idea what a 'stress bar' is/was, though took it in as a 'good thing' and noted it for further investigation, which I promptly forgot.

What an interesting indicator of whatever. I may have to study this further... Is it like the inner rings of an old tree trunk, where you can determine certain eras where an otherwise healthy tree experienced a brief period of trauma, one which was 'grown past and forgotten' though stamped in its biological record?

Yes, it's kind of like that. The 'stress bar' happens when the feather is been formed and before it 'comes out' of the keratin sheath so, by the time we notice them, whatever it was that caused them is long gone. Of course, this is only relevant when you have a situation like this one: a single stress bar and nothing else. But there are birds that get them all over. When I first got the Jardine, I admired the beautiful pattern she had on her chest and sides, it looked similar to a canary's lizard pattern in bright green and black and it was quite striking. But, when she started her molt, the pattern started to disappear and it was only then that I realized it was not a pattern but stress bars ALL OVER!